Tag Archives: shami chakrabati

Is Labour really the natural home for those concerned about human rights?

By John Kelly | Mon 22nd August 2016 - 12:11 pm

I read the report by Shami Chakrabarti into alleged racism in the Labour Party over the weekend. It’s a good report and an interesting read for a number of reasons – but I was looking for lessons for our Party.

What particularly struck me was that right upfront she explains why she joined the Labour Party as soon as she was appointed to lead the Inquiry. She states that she has always supported and voted for the Labour Party but that her various jobs (Civil Servant and then Director of Liberty) required her to be non-Party political. She goes on to say that Labour is however the natural home for anybody concerned about human rights, that all significant legislative improvements in human rights in this country have happened on Labour’s watch, and that Labour has consistently been the first Party to accommodate immigrant voices and to achieve significant support among successive waves of immigrants -whether they be Jewish, Irish, BAME.

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged labour | 33 Comments

European Arrest Warrant: I’m a sceptic (but not a Eurosceptic)

By Stephen Tall | Mon 10th November 2014 - 8:41 pm

As I write, the House of Commons is debating the European Arrest Warrant (EAW).

Well, sort of. In fact, the Speaker, John Bercow, has already pointed out that “there will not today be a vote on the specific matter of membership of the European arrest warrant”. But Home Secretary Theresa May and Justice Secretary Chris Grayling say there will. In the Tories’ Alice in Wonderland world, when they use the word vote it means just what they choose it to mean, neither more nor less.

As with any debate involving Europe, there is a danger of it being used as …

Posted in News | Also tagged chris grayling, europe, european arrest warrant, european union, john bercow, liberty, sarah ludford and theresa may | 13 Comments

Conference: the good, the bad and the ugly

By Caron Lindsay | Sun 30th September 2012 - 2:39 pm

Now that I’ve had some sleep and recovered from the fun of Federal Conference in Brighton, I thought I’d share with you some of the highs and lows of a thoroughly enjoyable five days.

The Good

When Shami beat Paddy: You don’t often see Paddy Ashdown being completely bested in an argument, but Liberty director Shami Chakrabati managed it with aplomb. Paddy said in his speech to a packed Liberty fringe meeting that secret courts were fine as long as everything was overseen by a Judge. Shami went for him. She said she knew she was abusing the chair, but it was her meeting and …

Posted in Conference and Op-eds | Also tagged Alistair Carmichael, jo shaw, Jo Swinson, nick clegg and peter andre | 28 Comments

Welcome for plans to scale down police stop and search

By Mark Pack | Thu 8th July 2010 - 11:59 pm

Commenting on the Home Secretary’s announcement that stop and search powers will be subject to stricter conditions, Tom Brake MP (Co-Chair of the Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Committee for Home Affairs, Justice and Equality) said:

This is a very welcome announcement. Section 44 was an unreasonable power, applied in an indiscriminate way.

This change strengthens our civil liberties, building on a longstanding commitment from Liberal Democrats.

When the Labour benches attacked the coalition for what they described as an obsession with defending civil liberties, it just highlighted their dangerous obsession with eroding them.

Shami Chakrabarti, Director of Liberty has also welcomed the Home Secretary’s decision:

Liberty

…

Posted in News | Also tagged policing, stop and search and tom brake | 2 Comments

Opinion: Healthy scepticism alive and well among Liberty’s ranks

By Jo Shaw | Wed 16th June 2010 - 2:20 pm

At the weekend Liberty held its AGM. Jo Shaw was there…

We are, as our esteemed director, Shami Chakrabarti said on Saturday “a gobby lot”. In that, the Liberty membership share much in common with the membership of the Lib Dems. Both share a tradition of being unwilling to shut up, of asking difficult questions and not necessarily toeing the line which might be expected or helpful for the leadership.

Liberty was formed 76 years ago in response to police brutality against protestors against hunger and unemployment. Police tactics at demonstrations and the politics of dissent are currently high in …

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged afua hirsch, diane abbot, edward garnier, human rights act, julian huppert, liberty, sarah ludford and simon hughes | 5 Comments

Social media’s impact on politics, part one: the groups that face extinction

By Mark Pack | Thu 28th January 2010 - 10:20 am

Welcome to a two-part series about the real impact social media (or social networking) is having on politics in Britain. In part one I look at the groups which face extinction, whilst in part two I will look at why pundits searching for the impact of social media on politics in 2010 are looking in the wrong place.

What impact has the introduction of cheap colouring printing technology had on British politics? Almost none. Certainly many more leaflets are colour than used to be the case, more target letters contain colour inserts and a generation of amateur designers have had the …

Posted in Online politics and Op-eds | Also tagged #trafigura, clay shirky, featured and social networks | 8 Comments

BBC Question Time – LDV open thread, 9 July 2009 #bbcqt

By Alex Foster | Thu 9th July 2009 - 10:22 pm

Question Time this week is the Schools Special – and that brings with it two innovations. Firstly there’s the option to watch it live at 8pm on BBC3 – hence the much earlier appearance of this post than usual; and secondly one of the panellists will be a young person to be announced on the night.

There will also be the following not-quite-so-young people joining in the debate: Andy Burnham MP, Jeremy Hunt MP, Sarah Teather MP, and Shami Chakrabarti.

As last week, we hope to have a magic Facebook window appearing here:

Posted in Lib Dem TV | Also tagged jeremy hunt and sarah teather | 3 Comments

Fixed elections and political policing

By Alix Mortimer | Sat 18th April 2009 - 9:34 am

Two damning pieces of news this morning.

The first comes from Erith and Thamesmead, where the already controversial Labour selection process has just taken a turn for the sinister. The BBC reports:

A London Labour spokesman said: “It was discovered that the seal on a ballot box containing previously received ballot papers for the selection of Labour’s parliamentary candidate for Erith and Thamesmead was broken.

“In order to maintain the integrity of the process, hustings meeting has been immediately postponed and a new date will be fixed.”

The candidates include Georgia Gould,

…

Posted in News | Also tagged damian green and georgina gould | Leave a comment

BBC Question Time (5/2/09): open thread

By Stephen Tall | Thu 5th February 2009 - 10:20 pm

There’s no Lib Dem representative on tonight’s Question Time (BBC1 and online, 10.35 pm GMT) – but liberalism will be represented, at least to some degree, by Shami Chakrabati, director of Liberty (and, more importantly, the original LDV Liberal Voice of the Year 2007).

Shami will appear alongside Labour’s Transport Secretary Geoff Hoon (the man who somehow, miraculously, escaped being sacked as defence secretary following the David Kelly affair), Conservative shadow work and pensions secretary Theresa May (who somehow, miraculously, escaped being sacked from the shadow cabinet for general inspidness), the leader of the UK Independence Party Nigel Farage …

Posted in Lib Dem TV | Also tagged bbc question time and will young | 8 Comments

The Lib Dem General Election review is out..

ALDC’s by-election report 9 January 2025

Defending British sovereignty: A response to far-right Influence

Lib Dem Peer Jenny Randerson dies at 76

Tag Archives: shami chakrabati

Is Labour really the natural home for those concerned about human rights?

European Arrest Warrant: I’m a sceptic (but not a Eurosceptic)

Conference: the good, the bad and the ugly

The Good

Welcome for plans to scale down police stop and search

Opinion: Healthy scepticism alive and well among Liberty’s ranks

BBC Question Time – LDV open thread, 9 July 2009 #bbcqt

Fixed elections and political policing

BBC Question Time (5/2/09): open thread

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The Lib Dem General Election review is out..

ALDC’s by-election report 9 January 2025

Defending British sovereignty: A response to far-right Influence

Lib Dem Peer Jenny Randerson dies at 76

Tag Archives: shami chakrabati

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